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More and more Brits are using ad-blockers, says survey

It's catching on - but not all blockers are militant

22 per cent of British adults now use ad blocking software, up from 15 per cent last July – and by four per cent over three months.

The survey was compiled for trade group the Internet Advertising Bureau by YouGov.

The IAB wants more consumer-friendly and “lighter” ads to fend off an “Adpocalypse”.

Two weeks ago mobile operator Hutchison said it will become the first network to block ads at the network level. It can also block ads serving app developers. The IAB maintains that punters would be poorer, since polls consistently show people prefer ads to paying for mobile content and services.

But the number is growing, particularly on mobile. IAB’s survey shows that more people blocking ads, and more are blocking ads on mobiles. 26 per cent of blockers do so on smartphones and 21 per cent do so on their tablets.

The IAB finds that “the most common reason people would be less likely to block ads is if they didn’t interfere with what they were doing (cited by 45 per cent), followed by having fewer ads on a page (29 per cent) and if they were more relevant (12 per cent).

A crumb of comfort suggests that blockers aren’t particularly militant about it. 54 per cent of those surveyed (and more 18-24s) said they’d turn the blocker off to reach a particular site or service. ®

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